Record costs clearing NJ roads this winter

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey spent a record amount clearing snow and ice from the state’s roads during the winter of 2014.

Transportation Commissioner James Simpson estimates the costs of clearing state, county and municipal roads could approach a half-billion dollars.

The state Transportation Department spent $138 million on state highways. DOT spokesman Steve Schapiro tells The Press of Atlantic City (http://bit.ly/RqIPHx ) that’s about the same amount as the combined cost for the previous three years.

The DOT dispatched crews for 50 separate storms or threats of dangerous road conditions. They used 496,000 tons of salt.

It cost more than $42 million to keep traffic moving on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. That compares to nearly $24 million last winter.

Snow-removal costs on the Atlantic City Expressway were $2.3 million.

___

Information from: The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.), http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com

Additional support for NJTV News is made possible by The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Rita Allen Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The E.J. Grassmann Trust, The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The F.M. Kirby Foundation, and The Union Foundation. Support for arts programming is made possible in part by the Jean Dubinsky Appleton Estate.